Babes! I've finally gotten around to making a first selection of photographs to share for my very first real Japan recap. It's incredibly hard to choose which images to use and which to leave sitting in my desktop folders, but that's life as a blogger, man. So hard. To set the scene: we visited Japan from June 8th-21nd, and we spent our first week in Fukuoka for an academic conference I was attending, after which we traveled to Okinawa for another five days, and then we spent two days in Tokyo before flying home. Today's post will be about some of the things we did, saw and ate while in Fukuoka. Our Fukuoka time was much more enjoyable than we had anticipated so I've decided to split up my Fukuoka recap in two posts to do the lovely city justice.

Apparently, Fukuoka is one of the most popular travel destination for tourists to visit while in Japan, however, almost no one I talk to seems to have ever heard of it. That may be because Fukuoka is more well-known among travelers from Asia than among Europeans. There is more than enough to love in Fukuoka: it's a beautiful, modern city with plenty of local flavor. There's a wide variety of mouthwatering, affordable restaurants, great shopping, loads of convenient public transportation, and like every place we've visited in Japan: people are ridiculously approachable and friendly. To seal the deal, staying in Fukuoka can be quite cheap if you use Airbnb, even if you're looking for more space than you usually get in Japan. Last time I checked, the median price point for a double bedroom appartment with airco in Hakata, the most popular area of Fukuoka, was about 46€ a night. My boyfriend loved Fukuoka so much that we're pretty much set on returning there some day.

You guys! In about a week, I'll be attending Werchter for the first time in agesssss and I'm super psyched. Werchter was the first festival I ever attended back in 2004 when I was 17, and I have many fond memories of going there with friends, dancing and moshpitting, freezing in our rain drenched clothes in the train station waiting for the first train in the early morning to take us home, singing songs and feeling so very grown up. I'm only going Sunday, which has an awesome line up (Florence and the Machine, The Last Shadow Puppets, Macklemore, Iggy Pop and SX), but loads of people I know are going all four days. I figured I'd help a sister (or a long haired brother) out by suggesting some hairstyles to get you through the festival looking hot AF even if your hair is a sweaty, greasy mess.

If you're a Belgian boo even only slightly into beauty, you'll have heard (and freaked out) about NYX opening their first Belgian store today, at the Langemunstraat in Gent. I was super excited when I got wind of the news about six months ago, and now the glorious day is finally here! I'm an incredibly lucky beautyblogger and I received a selection of NYX goods to dip my toes in the water before going all out and buying all the things, so let me show you my first impressions and hopefully inform you on which products you might need to add to your stash.

Hi guys! Japan is completely amazing and I've found myself unable to update this blog regularly because I'm just too busy enjoying myself. I'm updating my insta and snapchat regularly, though, but I figured a travel update here was way overdue. I'm kind of dead tired after a day of travelling from Fukuoka to Okinawa (not that far, but the turbulence was killing), so this post will be photo heavy and light on words. Enjoy!

L'Oreal has a gorgeous new line of nail polishes. I've been a fan of their color riche polishes for a while now - not dirt cheap but definitely affordable, and they always have the most gorgeous colours that actually last ages on my nails, so I was excited to give the new Color Riche a l'Huile line a go. After thorough testing, I can say I'm definitely a fan. Read on for my impressions!

The available colours are pretty basic: simple creme finish shades with
one metallic gold polish (660 l'Or) thrown in for good measure, but this
line sets itself apart in some other ways. First, the formula is
infused with oil, which is supposed to keep your nails healthier than
regular nail polish. Second, the thick, rounded brush picks up a lot of
polish, allowing you to paint your nails in one stroke. Fourth, the polish is slightly rose-scented. Fourth, look at
that gorgeous cut glass bottle! Definitely an item that would look
gorgeous on your makeup table. LOreal also claims that the formula is hyper pigmented, giving full opaque coverage in one coat. Let's see if it lives up to that promise. I swatched all of the shades I received and have since worn most of them for a couple of days to see how they hold up.

Let me just come out and say it: I do really love the colour selection. These colours are classics, but really chic ones, and the exact colour nuances picked are quite fresh if you ask me. The range of colours feels classic but still current, if you catch my drift. 662 Moka Chic is a greyish brown, very elegant but not my favourite for spring/summer. It has excellent colour coverage though, you can definitely get away with one thick coat of this shade.

114, Nude Demoiselle, is my ultimate favourite. It's a kind of soft, pink/beige leaning white that looks so fresh and feminine, but you do need 3 good coats to get even coverage. This is not an issue, though: even when using thick coats, the polish dries down very quickly. I actually like that I can use a pretty thick application with these polishes without them cracking where my nail bends, because the thick polish almost feels like I've had professional gel polish done.

222 Jardin des Roses is the PERFECT pink for me, sweet and bright but not neon or immature, just a clean, medium pink shade that is opaque in two layers. 550 Rouge Sauvage is a super glossy, saturated red that gives good coverage in one coat, and 442 Coral Trianon is a slightly muted tangerine/coral that gives me an instant summer feel. Coral Trianon needs two coats.

These polishes won me over on two accounts: first, how quick a thick coat dries down. Second, the excellent wear time. This is a picture of 662 Moka Chic on the fifth(!!) day of wear. No chips, just some wear on the tips, and that's without a basecoat or a topcoat. For a drugstore nailpolish, that's pretty amazing to me. I can't really tell if the oil infused formula is making my nails healthier, but I actually do feel like the past weeks I've had fewer chips and stronger nails. Maybe because of the thicker coats of polish protecting my nails, maybe because of the oil. WHO KNOWS?

In short, these polishes are super pretty and lovely quality for just €9,99. Definitely worth it! These polishes are available at Di, Kruidvat and the Carrefour Nailbar in Belgium.